Love Your Body — a simple mantra, yet many Penn students find it difficult to practice on a daily basis.
Love Your Body Day is a two-day national campaign, organized on campus by the Penn Women’s Center, which hopes to promote a positive body image among students.
This year’s program at Penn aims to “innovate student attention” by providing an interactive forum to discuss body issues and self-care, according to College senior and Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women Chairwoman Kaneesha Parsard.
On Thursday, Fatimah Muhammad, Penn alumna and associate director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center, facilitated a roundtable discussion about cultural standards of beauty. Participants were encouraged to question idealized images of beauty in society and examine ways in which these affected them.
“I was hoping to connect the toxic ideas about beauty in society with the ways that they hit us, to move us from awareness to empowerment,” she said.
The “Claim Your Beauty” Fashion Show on Thursday night was “not your typical fashion show,” according to event organizer and Wharton sophomore Morgan Humphrey. The show featured models of all shapes and sizes in custom-made T-shirts with slogans that shared what they feel is beautiful about themselves. Some of the models performed personal monologues about their bodies at the end of the walkway.
On Friday, the “Sex Myths and Sexual Health” panel will “debunk said myths through the perspectives of Penn-affiliated medical experts,” Pasard wrote in an e-mail.
She added many Penn students grapple with body image, and that students’ media consumption may lead them to internalize certain definitions of beauty.
“If you pick up a magazine, a lot of the verbs surrounding bodies are correctional verbs — disguise, cover-up, restore, fix,” PWC Director Felicity Paxton said.
“Many feminists, myself included, are concerned about the ways in which the discourse about bodies is always a discourse around disciplining and correcting, imperfections,” Paxton added.
Meeta Kumar, associate director of Counseling and Psychological Services, believes that the competitive environment at Penn can also exacerbate the body issues that students face. While some students struggle with eating disorders, she said that a “large percentage” of Penn students struggle with food choices, leading them to diet or exercise excessively.
Kumar added that students struggling with other issues might use their bodies to regain a sense of control.
“It may not be very visible on the outside because you are conforming to a standard of ‘healthiness’ but on the inside I think a lot of people use eating as a form of control,” said Ashley Arens, a first-year Social Policy and Practice grad student. “That is definitely visible from the way we view our bodies.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.